Tell us a little bit about what you do (how could I introduce you at a cocktail party?).

I’m trying to bring honesty and transparency to the asset management business by changing the compensation model and treating it like any other professional service provider (lawyer, accountant). This allows me to work strictly on behalf of my clients best interest, and without any other agenda or conflicts of interest.

When did you start on the path to where you are now?

I started with the idea that I wanted to help people with their money – educated and empower people to be more involved in the decision making around their money. I started with one idea but ended up with Just Wealth after watching yet another friend be taken advantage of by a financial advisor. All in it took three years to refine the idea and launch because of all the regulatory hurdles that didn’t fit well with my new business model.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I love helping people and I love doing research. I’m a research junkie. Economies and markets are constantly changing and trying to figure out all the moving parts really interests me.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned through your work?

The people who need me the most are the least likely to use my services.

If you had to give one piece of advice to someone starting out in your industry, what would it be?

Don’t do it for the money.

Just Wealth is based in Seattle, WA and you can learn more about them here.

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/business-spotlight-heide-lankeit-of-just-wealth/feed/0How to DIY a Painted Canvas Backdrophttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/how-to-diy-a-painted-canvas-backdrop/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/how-to-diy-a-painted-canvas-backdrop/#respondThu, 11 Jan 2018 00:26:41 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5918As pretty much every portrait photographer out there, I’ve always adored the look of Oliphant’s custom hand-painted canvas backdrops. But so do Annie Leibovitz and the rest of the world, so their price tag is justifiably out of reach in the thousands of $$. While they’re certainly worth every penny, I’ve always wanted to try my own hand at creating a similar look for my studio. Recently, I set about doing it!

Along the way, I made plenty of mistakes and learned a few things that may be helpful for others out there who are embarking on this project. Beginning to end, I had a great time working on these backdrops. There was a lot of creative problem solving along the way, and it’s a nice change of pace getting to work with a physical medium again when I’ve gotten so used to the world of digital photography and all those hours in front of a computer.

In this post, I’m going to tell you all about my process from beginning to end for those people out there who’d like to try it. There may be ideas of mine that you use or you may come up with your own little tricks. I’m sure there are about a million ways to paint a backdrop, but seeing what I’ve done may give you a great starting point.

Before you make a trip to Home Depot, the first thing to consider is where you’re going to be working on this project. You’ll need a rather large place to work since the backdrop will be painted on the floor and you’ll want at least a couple of feet surrounding it on which to work. I used my studio space, but if you don’t have that or don’t want to block off a few days of use in it for the project, a garage floor or hard-surfaced basement floor would work.

Small containers for mixing accent colors (I used yogurt containers, my answer to all of life’s little quandaries)

Ruler

Scissors

Hand saw

Gaff tape/Painters tape

Purchased Supplies:

8’X15′ Artists canvas – $54.08

2.5″ PVC Pipe – 7.86

Sponges and brushes for texturizing – $10

5 gallon bucket/s for mixing the base colors – $5

1-2 gallon of base color/s – $31.96

Quart mixing color – $12.47

Plastic drop cloths – $3.25

Paint roller covers – $5.56

Painting extension pole – $9.87

Several paint stir sticks (usually free at hardware stores)

Paint tray liners – $4

acrylic accent paints – $12.15

Unscented fabric softener – $5.47

Darning needles – $1.30

Upholstery Thread – $1.89

Thimble (trust me) – $1.66

Total in Purchased Supplies – $166.52

Almost all of the items were purchased at Home Depot. Fabric softener I got at the grocery store, and the needles, thread, and thimble were from a local fabric store (I’m sure you could also find them at Michael’s). There are a couple of options for the canvas itself. The cheaper option would be to get a 9×12 canvas drop cloth from Home Depot for less than $10. The drawbacks would be that the canvas is thinner and lower quality. After taking it out of the packaging, you’ll need to be sure to steam out the creases from folding (and even after, they may still be visible). Also, there is a seam running down the middle of the fabric which will inevitably show up on your painted backdrop.

I opted to get my canvas from a local art store, Daniel Smith Fine Art Materials. Canvas there comes on large rolls and you can request the length you’d like. I chose to get 15′ from a 8′ roll. To make it easier for transporting and ensure there would be any folding lines (ghastly!), I brought along my PVC pipe to the art store so that they could roll it directly onto the pipe for me at the time of purchase.

I set to work in my studio, and chose to do a few canvas backdrops. Since it’s such a big undertaking and I was already making the investment of my time and money, I wanted to get the most bang for my buck and I had the space to do so. Note: the pricing above is just for one backdrop (though the price goes down a bit if you do more since some of the purchased items come with more than you need for just one backdrop).

I laid my canvases out on the plastic drop cloths. In hindsight, I would have space them out further and covered more of the floor around their edges. I ended up with quite a few splatters on my wood floor and had to be very careful not to splatter from one canvas to another while painting.I used my roller with the extension pole to get down the base color. You need to ‘soften’ up the paint before using it on your canvas. If you were to use it straight out of the can, there would be a few problems. 1) It would absorb quickly into the canvas and you would need much more of it to cover the backdrop. 2) With all that paint, the backdrop itself would be heavy as hell. 3) Without ‘softening’ first, the dried paint would be very stiff and unwieldy. Upon rolling up the backdrop for storage, it would become cracked quite quickly.

The recipe I used for my base paint (which seemed to have worked quite well for me) was:

Equal parts paint and water

Then add about 15% more of unscented fabric softener.

Mix it all, then transfer to a paint tray. One coat of paint almost did the trick. I dried them overnight and did some spot touchups the next day.Strangely, my grocery store didn’t have unscented fabric softener so I went with the original scent, which really doesn’t make any difference except that the smell of fabric softener will be very strong in your work space for a long time, which isn’t all bad now that I remember it.For your additional layers, get in touch with your creativity! I tried a few different things (sponges, dry brushing, etc. I even tried taping together two beer cans, rolling a leather chamois around them, and tying the whole thing up with string. I applaud my own creativity, but it ended up not having an effect I was looking for, after all). I used a cheap Home Depot canvas drop cloth for practice before painting the real thing.

For my lighter backdrop, I used a taupe base color, and then a cream layer over it. For the texture, I used a texturized roller cover.For the darker drop, I used a medium brown base color and a lighter brown top coat with a slightly metallic finish. I added a third layer to each drop. For the light one, I added some very subtle plum with just a very little bit of paint on the same texturized roller cover (Important note: for accent colors, a very little goes a LONG way, so start smaller than you think you want to). For the dark drop, I used light brown once more, this time without any metallic sheen in it (I hadn’t liked the effect). To create an even softer look with the top layer, I used a type of ‘dry brushing’ technique. After applying paint to my roller, I used my practice canvas to get most of the paint off so that the paint I rolled onto my backdrop would be very faint. Then, immediately after applying it, I used a rag in circles to blend it in as much as possible. The effect made the final backdrop have a very soft, leathery look.One of the challenges of working out the logistics was figuring out how to hang the backdrop for shoots. I share my studio with other photographers, and it wasn’t an option to keep it in one stationary place. Due to its weight, it would have been difficult to hang with clamps–I think it would likely slide right out of them and probably damage the canvas (not to mention embarrass you during a shoot). The solution I came up with was to attach the canvas to a PVC pipe, and use the pipe similarly to the cardboard tube of a paper seamless backdrop. I suppose you could also use a cardboard tube, though PVC is much more sturdy and fairly inexpensive.

I believe the pipe came in 15′ segments, so it was more length than I needed. I sawed off the extra, leaving about 3-4″ on each end.

To attach the canvas to the PVC pipe, I decided to sew a sleeve on one of the short ends. To give myself room to work, I turned over a few feet of the canvas. That way, I could work on top of it and not put any creases on the folded edge. To see how much width I needed for the sleeve, I wrapped the canvas around the PVC and made a mark on where to sew. It needed to be a tight enough sleeve to be able to roll the canvas onto the pipe without much gapping. For a 2″ pipe, I marked my sewing line at about 4″Then, I used my upholstery thread and darning needles to do a simple over-under stitch (I’m sure there’s a better name for it than that) across the width of the backdrop. You’ll definitely want a thimble as it’s pretty tough to get the needle through the layers of canvas without it.And here is what the finished canvas looks like hung on a backdrop stand! Isn’t she pretty? I’ve told people that aside from my kids, she’s the thing I’m the most proud of having made I’ve been using these backdrops regularly for the last year or so–it’s taken me awhile to write up this post–and they’re no worse for the wear. Very durable, easy to set up, and compact to store. One thing to note: in order to roll up the canvas, I lower the crossbar, take it off the stands, lay the canvas flat, and then roll it up while on the floor. Due to its heft, it’s hard to roll it up while its still standing as you would with seamless paper. On the floor, it rolls easily and without getting puckers.And this is what the brown backdrop looks like in action with the lovely Shreya modeling. I hope this has been at least a little bit helpful to someone out there! When I was getting started in the process, I didn’t find a whole lot of very detailed information and I wanted to share what I’ve learned. Maybe there are other ways even better!

Let me know what you’ve tried and what’s worked and hasn’t!

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/how-to-diy-a-painted-canvas-backdrop/feed/0Headshots: How to get the most bang for your buckhttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/headshots-how-to-get-the-best-bang-for-your-buck/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/headshots-how-to-get-the-best-bang-for-your-buck/#respondWed, 22 Nov 2017 19:50:03 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5905

Decide on your goals for the shoot. One of the questions I always ask clients before a session is, “Imagine someone is seeing your image for the first time. What are three adjectives you’d hope they would use in describing you?” From that, I always get a range of answers, often including things like “approachable, trustworthy, experienced, professional…”. Then, with that in mind, take some time looking around the internet to find some images that really stand out to you. You’ll likely see a pattern start to emerge. Maybe everyone in those images looks very friendly and relaxed. Maybe the lighting is dramatic and lends more of an iconic edge. Maybe all the images you love are light and airy. Once you make that distinction, it will serve as a great guide when you begin looking at local photographers’ websites and comparing their styles. Just because a photographer has great reviews doesn’t necessarily mean they are the right fit for you, so start with your own particular goal.

Think about where your portraits will be used. Will they be strictly for LinkedIn? A press kit? Do you have a plan for where you want them on specific pages of your website–maybe the ‘about page’, the homepage banner, and the contact page? If that’s the case, what are your brand colors? That may influence the clothing you bring. How is your website situated–do the images need to be primarily vertical or horizontal? Communicate that with your photographer so he/she can keep it in mind during the session.

Choose your wardrobe well in advance… I’d say at least several days in advance, to give yourself time to do a little shopping, if need be. If you’ll have few clothing changes during the shoot, think about how you can achieve some variety. Possibly a business look, a more casual look, and maybe something a little on the glam/stylish side just for fun. This way, you’ll be able to use the images in a variety of places and really capitalize on the time spent with your photographer. People always ask me what they should wear, and this is something that varies widely from person to person. All of us are different, right? A good question to ask yourself is, “What do I wear that I’m constantly getting compliments on?” Do people ever say things like, “Wow, that is really your color!”? That will be your beacon in the fog of your closet search. Bring along the shoes you would normally wear with your outfits–even if they won’t be in the shot, they’ll make you feel more composed and put together. Also, don’t forget about the accessories! If you can’t decide, bring along an assortment of things and your photographer can help you choose what will work best in front of the camera.

….And know what to avoid. Just as important as what to wear is what not to wear. Generally, I tell clients to stay away from bold prints/graphics. The style may be flattering on you, but that pattern is going to steal ALL the attention from your face and put it on your body. Just go ahead and remove them from the closet before comparing your options. I suggest solid colors or small prints. I also personally don’t love all white/all black outfits–we tend to lose clothing details while exposing for the face. One last thing, and this is probably obvious, but…only wear sleeveless if you don’t hate your arms.

Stay hydrated and get your beauty sleep. Of course, we all know we don’t look our best after a late night. So plan a nice relaxing night before your session, and drink plenty of water. If you think your eyes look a little puffy in the morning, cold tea bags on your eyes for 5-10 minutes work wonders. If you’re doing your own hair and makeup, allow plenty of time of that, as well.

Give yourself extra time to get there. Maybe traffic is bad that day. Do you know exactly where the studio is, and do you need to allow extra time to find parking (the photographer should give you a heads up on that)? Be sure that you have his/her phone number in case you run into a jam. Giving yourself extra time ensures that you’ll be arriving as the best version of yourself, not the frazzled and sweaty version. Being relaxed when you get there is a much better starting point.

Trust your photographer. I’m going to give you a little insight from my world. Almost every single person that comes into my studio tells me something to the effect of, “Ugh, I HATE getting my picture taken,” or “I’ve been dreading this all week.” It’s not just you, it’s everyone. There’s something incredibly vulnerable about being in front of the camera. Remember that you chose this photographer for a reason, and likely it was because the people that you saw on his/her website looked GOOD. Maybe even great. Remember that those are people, just like you, who were nervous about being in front of the camera. And they survived–and even looked good–doing it! It’s ok to trust your photographer and know that you’re in good hands. You don’t need to practice all your different smiles, or try out poses at home in front of the mirror (in fact, I’d prefer my clients not to ‘practice’). Just come in as yourself and leave the rest to the professional.

I hope this has given you some good direction in how to prepare for your upcoming shoot! No matter which photographer you choose, I think these suggestions will apply across the board. Good luck!

Jenny Boyle Penney is a Seattle-based portrait photographer, specializing in personal and professional branding photography. To inquire about a session, email us at jenniferboylephotography@gmail.com

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/headshots-how-to-get-the-best-bang-for-your-buck/feed/0Corporate Photography: Clark Constructionhttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/corporate-photography-clark-construction/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/corporate-photography-clark-construction/#respondFri, 13 Oct 2017 21:13:36 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5887Recently we did the new portraits for all the Seattle employees of Clark Construction, one of the most experienced and respected building and civil construction firms in the US. In Seattle, I photographed around 60 of their employees over two days, and they’ll be using the images in a company-wide ‘yearbook’ to celebrate a big milestone in business. I love doing work like this– photographing genuinely nice people who work for an obviously well run company.

For this shoot, I wanted to give a little variety to the images, so I worked all over the areas surrounding their building to find places that had flattering light, as well as backgrounds that were aesthetically nice while also maintaining the style of previous portraits. I think we hit the nail on the head!

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/corporate-photography-clark-construction/feed/0Seattle Professional Lifestyle: Coast to Coast Paintinghttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/seattle-professional-lifestyle-coast-to-coast-painting/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/seattle-professional-lifestyle-coast-to-coast-painting/#commentsFri, 25 Aug 2017 20:09:01 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5861There are a lot of businesses out there who want to showcase what it is they do–the quality of their work, the caliber of their equipment, the high level of their employees–and be able to tell their prospective clients a story about it all. To give them the visuals for that story, I offer what I call ‘professional lifestyle’ shoots. For these shoots, I come to the job site to spend 2-3 hours as a fly on the wall–looking around for interesting angles and composing images that will put their company in the very best light (pun intended!). Clients WANT to connect with the people they’re working with, and especially when those people will be in their home, like many contractors are. They don’t want to see stock photos, and believe me, it’s easy for anyone to tell when they’re looking at stock imagery. Having photos of your team doing the work on a real job site not only puts clients at ease about who they’ll be hiring, but it also tells them that you’re the kind of company that is successful enough to hire your own photographer. And of course, I do save some time for posed portraits of the crew.

Here are a few of my favorite images from a professional lifestyle shoot with Coast to Coast Painting, who happen to be incredible at their work. Amazing attention to detail, great to work with, and they run a very tight ship.

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/seattle-professional-lifestyle-coast-to-coast-painting/feed/14 Reasons you need great portraits on your websitehttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/4-reasons-you-need-great-portraits-on-your-businesss-website/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/4-reasons-you-need-great-portraits-on-your-businesss-website/#respondFri, 21 Jul 2017 21:59:03 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5852In a business world that is increasingly centered around the internet, consumers have a whole lot more options than ever before. Geography used to be the biggest factor in whether or not your business is chosen over the other guys. That’s not always the case anymore. It’s more important than ever to have a great portrait of yourself for clients to latch on to. Here are 4 reasons why:

First Impressions are almost impossible to change. According to this article by Entrepreneur.com, “it takes less than two-tenths of a second for an online visitor to form a first opinion of your brand once they’ve perused your company’s website” And one of the key factors in forming that impression is the primary image. Clients want and need to feel a connection immediately to the person behind the business, and if they don’t see you as trustworthy, approachable, and professional, that’s a real ‘break’ moment.

You need to look relevant. Maybe your haircut or clothes are way out of fashion (or maybe your hairline is much further back than it used to be). Perhaps the style of photography is outdated, with colored gels lighting the background. Whatever the case, you need an image that makes you look like you’re successful in the here and now, and relevant.

People should recognize you when meeting for the first time. This is also connecting to the first point. People want to feel an immediate connection to the person they’re going to do business with. A portrait shouldn’t just be flattering, but it should also look like you do in real life. And the expression/body positioning should be something you might be seen with any old time. If your appearance has drastically changed, time for a new portrait–that way, if you’re meeting your potential client somewhere for the first time, they feel like they’ve already gotten to know you from your portrait instead of being blindsided from a stranger.

A fully fleshed out website teeming with imagery instills trust. If you’re just starting a business, you may want to do a little corner-cutting to save money while building your clientele. The problem is that without investing in a great website and portraits, you have no way of building trust with future clients. It’s important to project the success you hope to achieve, and a great-looking portrait that really represents who you are is a big step in getting there.

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/4-reasons-you-need-great-portraits-on-your-businesss-website/feed/0Shreya – lawyer/gorgeous humanhttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/shreya-lawyer-and-goddess/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/shreya-lawyer-and-goddess/#respondFri, 21 Apr 2017 20:49:53 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5834Shreya is an attorney here in Seattle, co-founder of Layroots, a team of lawyers who classify themselves as “Lawyer-Humans”. Their m.o. is that they treat clients like people, and not like case files. I love this so hard. Having gotten to know Shreya a little bit, I can tell you how well this title of lawyer-human fits her. She’s a fun, quirky lady who’s smart as hell and really knows her business. She’s very kind, with a fascination and authentic interest in the people she’s surrounded by. Down to earth, but unintimidated.

Shreya came into my studio for a modern glamour session, and this girl brought all of that with her! She just happened to have a few amazing pieces of vintage-wear that we incorporated into her session for a 70s vibe, and she brought in her wedding gown for even more literal glamour.

Thanks to Katie from KM Hair and Makeup for putting an exclamation point on this lawyer-human.

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/shreya-lawyer-and-goddess/feed/0A new brand focushttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/a-new-brand-focus/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/a-new-brand-focus/#respondFri, 21 Apr 2017 20:22:49 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5829For as long as I’ve been a photographer professionally, all my work has fallen under one DBA – Jennifer Boyle Photography. This included a whole range of things. Events, business portraits, personal branding, families, lifestyle…. As I’ve seen my business grow over the past few years, the need for a little bit more focus and separation of brands has become apparent.

In the late fall, I removed my family lifestyle work from Jennifer Boyle Photography, and gave that part of my business it’s own brand. Frankly, I’m bananas over it. Jenny Penney, which is in fact my married name but not one I go by very often. Well, it lends itself pretty perfectly to a family lifestyle photography brand, and Josh Huisenga of Chalkbox Creative blew me out of the water with his incredible design talent in creating the perfect branding for Jenny Penney. Please take a look–it’s gorgeous! David Innes of RealBasics helped me produce a website that is easy to navigate, as well as beautiful and so very me.

And so now, Jennifer Boyle Photography is for my portrait work–that’s personal and professional branding. Individuals refreshing their online presence, midsize companies updating their employee headshots, rebranding, or self-celebration. Professional, modern glamour, boudoir, mother/daughter, or any other reason a person might have to get in front of my camera.

]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/a-new-brand-focus/feed/0Baby Wadehttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/baby-wade/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/baby-wade/#commentsThu, 30 Jun 2016 17:26:52 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5808Sweet Wade took his sweet time making his appearance – he was two weeks overdue, but it was obvious this little man was just waiting for the perfect time. He had been in the world less than a week when we did our session, and seemed to know all about it! He was already a champion nurser and sleeping long stretches through the night! Congratulations to mom and dad, Jacynda and Chad, on such a wonderful little boy
]]>http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/baby-wade/feed/1The Bjarko Family Extravaganzahttp://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/the-bjarko-family-extravaganza-2/
http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/the-bjarko-family-extravaganza-2/#commentsFri, 24 Jun 2016 22:40:08 +0000http://jenniferboylephotography.com/blog/?p=5763Last weekend was very special for the Sanem-Bjarko Family. Their son, Eddie, graduated high school, it was Sue’s 50th birthday, AND their 22nd wedding anniversary. This perfect storm of milestones calls for a HUGE celebration, and they delivered. Old friends came from far and wide to drink delicious beer, eat roast pig that Greg had tended to himself all night long over an open fire, and jam onstage with the music of a past generation. It was my absolute pleasure to be there documenting this awesome celebration for them. Hope you enjoy a few of my favorite images!
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